Boyertown, Pennsylvania

Boyertown Boyerschteddel
Borough
Boyertown viewed from atop Cannon Hill
Location of Boyertown in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Boyertown Location of Boyertown in Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°19′53″N75°38′10″W / 40.33139°N 75.63611°W / 40.33139; -75.63611
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Berks
Area [1]
• Total	0.77 sq mi (2.00 km2)
• Land	0.77 sq mi (2.00 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	407 ft (124 m)
Population  (2020) [2]
• Total	4,264
• Density	5,516.17/sq mi (2,128.96/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	19512
Area code(s)	610
Website	boyertownborough.org

Boyertown (Pennsylvania Dutch: Boyerschteddel) is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,055 at the 2010 census. ^[3] Boyertown is known for the many painted fiberglass bears that can be found throughout the town and borough.

History

See also: Rhoads Opera House fire

A post office called Boyertown has been in operation since 1828. ^[4] The community was named for its founders, brothers Henry and Daniel Boyer. ^[5]

In 1908, Boyertown was the site of the Rhoads Opera House fire. ^[6]

Geography

Boyertown is located along the southeastern border of Berks County. It is bordered on the north, west, and south by Colebrookdale Township, and to the southeast by Douglass Township in Montgomery County.

Boyertown is included in the Reading metropolitan statistical area, which is part the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Boyertown has a total area of 0.77 square miles (2.0 km²), all land. ^[3] It has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and average monthly temperatures range from 30.0 °F in January to 74.7 °F in July. The hardiness zone is 6b.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	690		—
1880	1,099		59.3%
1890	1,436		30.7%
1900	1,709		19.0%
1910	2,433		42.4%
1920	3,189		31.1%
1930	3,943		23.6%
1940	3,983		1.0%
1950	4,074		2.3%
1960	4,067		−0.2%
1970	4,428		8.9%
1980	3,979		−10.1%
1990	3,759		−5.5%
2000	3,940		4.8%
2010	4,055		2.9%
2020	4,264		5.2%
Sources: [7] [8] [9] [2]

As of the 2000 census, ^[8] there were 3,940 people, 1,805 households, and 1,025 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,941.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,908.0/km²). There were 1,885 housing units at an average density of 2,364.2 per square mile (912.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.83% White, 0.20% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 1,805 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the borough, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $39,232, and the median income for a family was $52,943. Males had a median income of $33,783 versus $26,507 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,194. About 3.6% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

PA 73 eastbound in Boyertown

As of 2020, there were 12.82 miles (20.63 km) of public roads in Boyertown, of which 1.91 miles (3.07 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 10.91 miles (17.56 km) were maintained by the borough. ^[10]

Pennsylvania Route 73 (Philadelphia Avenue) is the main east–west road through the borough. It leads east-southeast to Schwenksville and eventually Northeast Philadelphia. To the northwest it leads to Blandon north of Reading. Pennsylvania Route 562 (Reading Avenue) leads west to Reading proper. Pennsylvania Route 100 bypasses the borough just outside its eastern border, leading north to Macungie near Allentown and south into Pottstown. A railroad line runs south from Boyertown to Pottstown. This line is used by the Colebrookdale Railroad tourist line and the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad freight line.

Public education

The borough is served by the Boyertown Area School District.This includes one senior high school, two middle schools, six elementary schools, and a cyber school program. ^[11]

Media

The area is served by The Berks-Mont News , a weekly paper with a circulation of 5,500.

Landmarks

• Cabot Corporation
• Rhoads Opera House

Notable people

• Steve Burns (born 1973), former Blue's Clues host, actor, musician
• James Develin (born 1988), football player for the New England Patriots
• Elaine Irwin Mellencamp (born 1970), former Victoria's Secret model, ex-wife of rock musician John Mellencamp
• John M. Schealer (1920–2008), author of numerous science fiction books for children
• Mark Soper (born 1959), actor
• Carl Spaatz (1891–1974), Army general during World War II

Sister cities

Boyertown has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• - Bohodukhiv, Kharkivs'ka (Kharkiv), Ukraine

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
2. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Oct 12, 2022.
3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Boyertown borough, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
4. "Berks County". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
5. "Rhoads family of Berks and its doctor poet". Reading Eagle. Nov 28, 1920. p. 22. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
6. Schneider, Mary Jane (1991) Midwinter Mourning: The Boyertown Opera House Fire. MJS Publications
7. "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
8. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
9. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
10. "Boyertown Borough map" (PDF). PennDOT. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
11. "Boyertown Area School District / BASD Homepage". www.boyertownasd.org. Retrieved 2023-04-25.

External links

• Borough of Boyertown official website
• History of Boyertown